Good Morning, Monster is not only the title of Catherine Gildiner’s book, but what one of her patients actually heard every day of her childhood. And not in a loving ‘you’re grumpy’ or ‘you’ve got bedhead’ way, but with true disdain. Gildiner is a psychologist in Canada and in Good Morning, Monster she’s pulled together the stories of five patients who deeply impacted her and ... Read More...
Emma in the Night
Apparently, I’ve moved from dystopian novels this summer to thrillers. On Monday I reviewed See What I Have Done a novel about Lizzie Borden, which I found fascinating more for its bizarre family dynamics than the actual murders. Now I’m back with Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker, a contemporary novel with a family that makes the Bordens look like the Brady Bunch. ... Read More...
Ill Will: A Novel by Dan Chaon
No doubt this must happen to everyone at a certain age: You look up for a moment and you’re not sure which life is read. You’ve split yourself into so many honeycombed parts that they barely notice each other—all of them pacing, concurrently, parallel streams of thought, and each one thinks of itself as me. Dustin Tillman has a lot on his mind. His wife ... Read More...
Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are
We tend to think all of our traits and life decisions can be traced back to our genes or the influence of our parents or partners, but it has become increasingly clear that our peers are stealth sculptors of everything from our basic linguistic habits to our highest aspirations. Friendfluence is a well-researched but readable look at what many consider to be the most ... Read More...
Hijacked by Your Brain
It is possible to prepare your brain to truly manage stress. And the result is well worth the effort: discovering a sense of calm and confidence that makes life ultimately worthwhile. Strong words for an introduction and ones that will certainly grab a lot of readers. In today’s world of chaos and unpredictability our brain’s alarm center is firing at DEFCON 1 all the time. ... Read More...
